Is Tesco Finest Mature Cheddar & Red Onion Flavour Hand Cooked Crisps ultra-processed?

150 g Cheese and onion crisps Sold in the United Kingdom

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Colour
Flavouring
E160c Paprika extract

13 ingredients
1 additive
Nutri-Score C

Less processed flavoured potato crisps

Less processed isn't automatically healthier, so compare the labels for what matters to you, such as sugar or salt.

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

Potato, Rapeseed Oil, Onion, Sugar (processing marker), Rice Flour, Salt (processing marker), Yeast Powder, Flavouring (ultra-processing marker), Red Onion, Yeast Extract Powder, Parsley, Colour (ultra-processing marker) (Paprika Extract (ultra-processing marker))

Additives: E160c Paprika extract

As written on the pack

Potato, Rapeseed Oil, Onion Powder, Sugar, Rice Flour, Salt, Yeast Powder, Flavouring, Red Onion Powder, Yeast Extract Powder, Parsley, Colour (Paprika Extract). Suitable for vegans

What makes it ultra-processed

Cosmetic additives

Added to change how the food looks, feels or tastes, not to keep it safe. A hallmark of ultra-processed food.

E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

3 ingredients that would only make it processed

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

Salty snacks Products in the category "Salty snacks" are at least group 3.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 19 cheese and onion crisps

From least to most processed, this one ranks 5th. 95% of the cheese and onion crisps here are ultra-processed.

Ranked by NOVA group, then by the number of ultra-processing signs, additives and ingredients. Our ordering, not part of NOVA.

All 19 cheese and onion crisps, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000358776508, last edited 13 May 2026), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
Photo: Open Food Facts contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0.
The NOVA group is an automated estimate from crowdsourced data: a missing or mistyped ingredient can change it.
NOVA measures processing, not nutrition. For nutrition, Open Food Facts gives this product a Nutri-Score of C (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.